One more round for Arnie

The Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Perhaps for a second there, Arnold Palmer thought the magic had returned. He kept wishing, he kept hoping.

Then he walked to the No. 4 hole.

And perhaps at that point, he felt closure. He might have discovered an even-par first round was out of the question, a chance to make Friday's cut was a ridiculous notion, and a career spanning 50 years at the Masters Tournament was most definitely complete.

After parring the opening three holes in Thursday's first round - he also parred five of the first six - Palmer double-bogeyed the 4th and tumbled to a 12-over-par 84 that left the 74-year-old legend far off the pace.

Those first three holes, though, were a blast for the four-time Masters champion.

"I kept going, I kept hoping," said Palmer, whose Masters career likely will come to an end after Friday's second round. "I tried to keep it together. I wish I could say I had a bad break. But I hit a bad shot. That's what happens."

It didn't take away from Nathan Smith's experience.

The amateur from Brookville, Pa. - along with Bob Estes - played with Palmer, shooting 6-over 78. He was just thrilled to be out there with his fellow Pennsylvanian, basking in the applause that soaked the trio wherever they walked.

"I love him just like everybody else back there (in western Pennsylvania) and down here," said Smith, whose hometown is about 80 miles northeast of Palmer's home of Latrobe. "It was a real thrill. I was lucky enough to play a practice round with him on Tuesday. That was really good for me actually, to kind of ease into it. Obviously, he's got a big following."

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The army was awfully excited, too, especially with his start. He just couldn't sustain it.

"It was very tough, and I didn't play very well," Palmer said. "I had a fairly good start, but I let it slip a little at the end of the front nine, and I never got back on it."

Just 2-over-par through No. 6, he bogeyed 7 and 9 before marking a 6 on the par-4 No. 10. He continued his struggles on the back nine, scoring par on just two of the last nine holes, including a 12-foot putt on No. 17 that ended with the King bowing to his constituents in the spectator bleachers.

Partially to blame for the poor performance was the hype surrounding Palmer's last Masters -- appearances in national publications; receiving the key to Augusta in a ceremony Monday night; the interviews.

"It's been a big week, and I'm tired," said Palmer, who hasn't made the Masters cut since 1983. "But I'll be all right (Friday). And Saturday I'll probably be better yet."

Palmer, though, admits he's still a dreamer. Sure, he's broken 80 just once in the last eight years he's played the Masters. But he refuses to fade away without a fight.

That will help make Friday so special for Arnie's Army.

He'll keep going; he'll keep hoping, and he'll keep fighting.

"I'm not very proud of my score, but that's something that is secondary," Palmer said. "I really would have liked to make the cut. And I may just make it yet. But I would have to quit playing after the 9th tomorrow. I may just come out and shoot 65."